Monday, November 30, 2009

Today I had a visit from the editor of "Scan" (my old job!) and two teacher-librarians undertaking their retraining course with Charles Sturt University. They had come to absorb the atmosphere of the school library and hopefully pick up some tips to try out in their own schools. It's always fun to be a mentor, and I find I usually learn as much from the process as my "mentee".

Friday, November 27, 2009

Over on TrekBBS, a poster discussed the practice of Star Trek fans wearing a Starfleet costume in public to show their allegiance to the franchise. (There was that rather bizarre incident during the late 80s with that woman serving on a US jury panel, who turned up in Starfleet uniform, complete with communicator pin and toy tricorder - and then wondered why she received so mych adverse publicity.)

"Where's my fluffer?"

I have worn a Starfleet uniform in public many times since 1980, but I've always been dressed for an event, not because I've had a whim to wear weird, attention-getting clothes that day. Not having a car, I've even traveled on public transport in uniform, sometimes with a group (heading for a ST movie premiere or Halloween party) and twice I have worn a uniform on a plane, alone, going to an interstate Star Trek convention, and needing to travel light, with only carry-on luggage.

Comments are almost always positive, but I cannot fathom the need to wear a Starfleet uniform just for the heck of it. They simply aren't practical for life in the 21st century. No pockets, the need for hidden zippers, no helpers to ensure the uniform is continuing to hang properly.

On TrekBBS, someone else asked: So, what gives? Are the Starfleet uniforms really complicated and difficult to duplicate? Is it a matter of them being prohibitively expensive?

I have many Starfleet uniform incarnations, but if you compared any of them to an actual costume you'd find a few nits to pick. The main difference is that when you wear a uniform in public you don't have the entourage of "fluffers" that an actor making the show would have. During breaks between scenes, the wardrobe people are on hand to tug, pull and pin. The makeup people do touch-ups. The lighting person tweaks the angles of the lights to prevent weird shadows. And a studio photographer takes hundreds of photos and hopes to use just one, which he may then need to airbrush.

Why do you never see one of the actors turn up to an event in a Starfleet uniform, and stay in it all day? Because a fully tailored costume is too damned uncomfortable! For those early TNG spandex numbers, your back would ache, the undersoles of your feet would ache due to the stirrups, you couldn't sit down (because the fluffers weren't on hand), and you'd sweat like crazy - and no one would be around to hold the air blowers under your armpits.

Not to mention toilet breaks! Many Starfleet uniforms, especially authentic ones, require almost-total nudity just to go to the bathroom.

Floor costumes for a convention need to have comfort built in and, for that reason, collars are a bit looser, shoulders a bit saggier, emergency escape hatches have less-hidden zippers, and the amateur designers use fabrics that are much lighter weight (and may photograph differently to your intentions, too). And you have to maintain the same build every time you put on that particular costume. And "suck in your gut" for photos all day, which may be taken by other con goers who don't warn you when they are about to take a photo!

Commercial costumes always end up looking like they are one-size-fits-all.

Also, most of my homemade uniforms were created from sneak peaks in rare publicity stills (for then-unreleased incarnations of Star Trek). Inevitably, on premiere night, we'd discover that our uniforms had a few nits (see above) but, by then, it is too expensive to remake them, so you end up living with a few faults, fixing a few problems where you can.

The above pic is from the premiere night of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" - and, yes, my badge and belt buckle have my own variation of an insignia, assuming ST II would follow the lead set by the original series. The women have Enterprise (and Reliant) insignias. Our collars were knitted from wool the night before the premiere and the badges were made from gold-painted cardboard and plastic ice cream containers, eventually replaced a few months later by commercially-available metal versions.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Stunning flowers fill the gardens around the base of old palm trees in the war memorial park halfway along the shopping centre on High Street, in Penrith. 16 November 2009.

Jack takes "Tiger" to bed. Yes, the current "tiger" is actually a sheepskin platypus. Poor confused dog. 17 November 2009.

These hardy flowers are in numerous commercial stores' flower beds in Penrith. 18 November 2009.

Christmas decorations at the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) in the Sydney CBD. 19 November 2009.

Home customised "Bear and Chook" Christmas ornament. 20 November 2009.

Alien invasion of my bedroom. These little guys are from the "Toy Story" series of Pixar animated films, of course. The one on the mauve base is a very annoying talking night light. The other foreground alien is a bootleg battery operated toy from a bargain importer. The alien teddy is one of those collectible Japanese bears. 21 November 2009.

Jack finally meets Wishbone at Mash cafe in Glenbrook. They were surprisingly well behaved while we ate breakfast. 22 November 2009.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Left: A meal fit for a Klingon. "Flame-grilled butcher's skewer", a signature dish at the Meat & Wine Co., Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour in Sydney. It literally drips its meaty juices over the French fries underneath.

Right: The Salmon of Doubt? My "Salmon skewer", also from the Meat & Wine Co. I trusted the chef's recommendation of medium rare, but it was a little too underdone higher up on the skewer. An impressive dish, nonetheless. A fishy alternative to the red meat version.

Friday, November 13, 2009

I couldn't wait to share this picture of my new Max doll, from the classic picture book, "Where the wild things are" (by Maurice Sendak) - just in time for the release of the new live action movie. It was inevitable that he and Chook would cross paths. 13 November 2009.

I love this interesting juxtaposition of CBD buildings, amid the extensive rebuilding going on - and ongoing! - in the Pitt Street Mall. The reflection of Sydney's Centrepoint Tower can be seen in the reflective side of a building. 12 November 2009.

School students - the faces behind their puppet friends. 11 November 2009. I especially love how this little girl (below) has her puppet draped across her face in the main photo (above)!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Aftermath of Murder: Andrew Mercado, who's assembling the next "Number 96" boxed set of consecutive TV episodes for Umbrella, has just announced that he has secured new bonus commentary tracks with the wonderfully witty Carol Raye (one of my funniest interviewees ever, when I interviewed her many years ago), and the charming Lis Kirkby.

Known to fans of "Number 96" as Don Finlayson's aunt, the Baroness Amanda Von Pappenburg, Carol Raye did two memorable stints in the series, plus one cameo appearance, and then went behind the scenes of the soapie as a Cash Harmon casting director. Her earlier work on "The Mavis Bramston Show" had already endeared Ms Raye to the Australian public, but wacky Amanda, forever cracking open champagne at breakfast - or, indeed, whenever her brain told her that the time was "a quarter past a daffodil" - often stole the show. I'm really looking forward to her contribution to this new DVD set.

Elisabeth Kirkby, the beloved Lucy Sutcliffe of the launderette (somewhere around the corner from her flat at "Number 96"), also went on to a totally different career after departing the series. As Leader of the Australian Democrats in the Upper House of NSW Parliament, Ms Kirkby became a household name all over again. I was fortunate enough to meet her on several occasions to discuss the series, and I was always impressed by her knowledge and pithy opinions of the state of the TV industry of the 70s, and what made "Number 96" so unique and successful.

Well done, Andrew, for this most excellent achievement! More details can be found here!

Monday, November 09, 2009

Despite the exciting range of Playmates' Star Trek action figures out there in the 1990s, I often found that my favourite character were missing.

Why not Trek-it-yourself? Decapitate a few bargain table figures, plonk on a new coat of paint and you, too, can supplement the ranks of Starfleet's finest.The early days...

My first Star Trek figurine make-over dates back to 1980, just after I had discovered Star Trek fandom. I was actually retaliating against AMT's inclusion of a mere three figures (Kirk, Spock, Sulu) with its otherwise excellent Enterprise Bridge scale model kit. I hated the fact that the finished model had all those empty chairs: no navigator, communications officer, doctor, engineer, nurse or yeoman. There wasn't even a token, disposable, red-shirt security guard. The perfectionist in me wanted, at the very least, the three division colours to be represented.

After a long search through hobby shops, I couldn't find humanoid figures in the desired scale or clothing (although I later saw an ad for extra crew in an early issue of Starlog magazine). Shelling out $$$$$ for a second bridge set was tempting, but would still only provide three more figures... and only one of those in a seated position. Eventually, I completed Kirk and Spock according to the instructions, but settled for narcissism with the third figure. I painted Sulu to resemble my newly-created Andorian persona, which I'd already paraded live at Star Trek gatherings. Red shirt, white hair, blue skin and two antennae (made from thin pieces of wire, heated at one end to melt them into position), and a tiny version of Security Officer Therin was ready to guard the turbolift doors.

Will Decker from TMP, an Andorian custom,with AMT TOS figures and "tweaked Sulu".

A few months later, a lucky find of bargain basement Mego 3.75 inch action figures from Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Dukes of Hazzard inspired my next project: I simply repainted a Luke Duke head, bent some dressmakers pins and stuck it all onto a spare Will Decker torso to create a promotion for my Andorian character. Therin, by this time, had taken on a life of his own, appearing at gala film premieres and in numerous costume parades, fanzine short stories and audiovisual productions. For many years, he was even captain of his own ship, the USS Hood, and wore a unique insignia on his uniforms. Now he was an action figure, too!

Therin of Andor

In 1996, I was finally able to represent Therin in his latter day Starfleet outfit (above), by bringing together a Playmates' Star Trek Generations Kirk torso and the head of Iolaus (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). I had to trim down Iolaus' muscular neck, somewhat and then the hairline was altered by trimming off several tufts of hair and transplanting them with superglue. Plastic-headed, dressmaker's "berry pin" antennae were truncated carefully with a sharp Stanley knife. Captain Therin's tiny insignia and belt buckle were created by cutting up pieces of very thin plastic, taken from the edges of a household cockroach bait! (Things get desperate at 1.00 am when you're in a creative mood.)

Back in business...

Although it had been quite a few years, I'd well and truly caught the customising bug again...

I created a "bootleg" Thomas Riker using the simple head-swap method. No authentic examples had been imported into Australian retail outlets, so buying a spare O'Brien in Starfleet Duty Uniform, plus a spare Will Riker, was much cheaper than the alternative: a mail ordered "shortpack" Thomas from the US. And my compromise figure doesn't have the oft-maligned, painted-over rips in the uniform!

A Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, A Matter of Honor, presented an obvious challenge. It was established that Mendon the Benzite was an exact double of Wesley's friend Mordock (and played by the same actor, John Putch). I purchased a discounted Mordock and grafted his head, forearms and breathing device onto a Cadet Wesley body. During late-night research with my View-master reels of the Mendon episode, it was sheer serendipity when I realised that Mendon's (second season) uniform really did feature a rare collar. Matching the blue/green paint of a science uniform took some time, though.

Bolian Starfleet officer, Dr Selar of Vulcan, Mendon the Benzite

Next up (as you can see above) was a Bolian Starfleet officer. I originally planned to make Captain Rixx (TNG's Conspiracy) to utilise the leftover Riker body. I even found a perfect sneering bald head on the evil Hood character (from Thunderbirds), but by the time I'd added his facial ridge, long earlobes and blue skin, my Bolian was a dead ringer for the Enterprise-D's barber, Mr Mot! So, I guess this figure is Mr Mot in his holodeck fantasy costume!

A Next Generation K'Ehleyr head was shaved free of all hair, made-over with (five-minute hardening) Knead It putty, given a pair of Spock's sliced-off ears, and simply snapped into place on a spare Beverly Crusher body. The result? A stunning Dr Selar figure, from The Schizoid Man. Selar even looked like actor Suzie Plakson, but no wonder: she had also played K'Ehleyr. Of course, a Kate Pulaski second season uniform would have been more accurate, but they were unavailable Down Under; Bev was plentiful - and often on the bargain tables!

Dr Selar

Getting braver and bolder...

My next ideas were more ambitious and would nudge me further into the putty-and-sandpaper league. I managed to track down an excellent (cheap!) price on a second Classic Enterprise Bridge boxed character assortment: a mini-army of spare parts! I think it was the last set for sale at retail in Australia. Along came Lieutenants Arex and M'Ress of Filmation's Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS), two of my favourite ST aliens.

Filmation characters, Arex and M'Ress

These two great characters were so rarely given the spotlight. Arex, an Edoan, had three arms and three legs and M'Ress, a Caitian, resembled a lioness. Their participation in the cartoon series was minimal enough, but when DC Comics brought them out of early retirement for their movie-era comic in the 80s, Paramount actually demanded that they be written out again. The animated series was no longer "canon", you see, and Arex and M'ress were out-of-work Toons again. (Shades of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?...) I was determined to pay homage to these characters and I guess it worked. I'm very pleased with the results.

The Classic Sulu figure had the correct rank on his sleeves for Arex and also had the slimmest torso. Imagine my surprise when I found strange factory markings, black scrawls in both English and Japanese (?), on Sulu's back! (These markings probably denote a unique rarity, I know, but since I'd already broken the packaging seals and desperately needed the figure to make my Arex, I forged ahead.) Ensign Chekov donated an arm, complete with its newly-puttied lieutenant stripe. The arm was simply superglued to the centre of the chest. One finger was sliced off each hand with a Stanley knife so that Arex could join the ranks of his four-fingered colleagues: Mickey Mouse, Roger Rabbit and so on.

Right: Factory markings on my Arex custom (a former Sulu)

Sulu's legs were completely removed. Three canine-like legs were fashioned with black Crayola Model Magic, a lightweight modelling dough which air-dries to a flexible, yet dense, foam rubber consistency. (The result was superior to what could have been achieved with Das, Fimo or Polyclay, so wasn't it just as well I couldn't find those products in stock anywhere?) Being so flexible, the tops of the thighs were easily trimmed with the Stanley knife and superglued seamlessly to the curved surfaces of Arex's nether regions. His toes were then adjusted on the Starfleet command base to give the best stance and they too were superglued into position. Later, I decided to give the legs a coat of black gloss enamel to better match the sheen of the other characters' uniform trousers. I was very surprised that the modelling compound could be painted so easily, but it worked. (I actually broke one leg when I dropped Arex while showing him off to friends. The leg superglued back together and I can't even find the join. Miracle stuff, eh?)

Arex's head was moulded out of white Model Magic dough, then air-dried overnight. Two yellow "berry pins" became the Edoan's bulbous eyeballs and were sealed into place with eyelids made from putty. Four frustrating attempts with Knead It putty were needed to achieve the desired neck angle. (The phone rang twice! What are the odds on that?) Finally, Mr Arex was ready for a coat of orange paint. Success!

M'Ress the Caitian

M'Ress was a little less complicated. Essentially, she is a puttied-over Classic Uhura, the only female in the boxed set. Remember, this was before the availability of single-packed Janice Rand figures, so I couldn't afford to make a mistake! I breathed deeply and gave Uhura a quick nose job, with the fast-hardening Knead It putty used to build up cat-like eyes, nostrils and cheekbones. The mane of hair was created from a large piece of the same putty, squeezed flat, draped over the head and textured with a blunt tool. I fluked it first go, with only seconds to spare.

As with Arex, one finger was removed from each hand. The digits were also shortened to resemble paws. A search of local toy shops for suitable feline legs proved fruitless, so I superglued the existing legs into the necessary angles: thighs wedged up against the front of the skirt hem and the knees slightly bent. Uhura's boots were pared down, the heels removed and the toes cut short. A pair of paws, cut from a quasi Lion King figurine, were superglued into place. The same lion's tail was easily docked and transplanted. The lion's ears were inadequate, but the donor ears of the accompanying rhinoceros figure, which shared the blister pack, were ideal. M'Ress was also superglued to her Starfleet base, because her putty hair made her a little top-heavy.

Customs on the bridge

There was no stopping me now...

Nothing goes to waste! Over the next few months, the spare Beverly face (from making the Dr Selar) was placed onto a Saavik head and a Torres body to create Captain Beverly Picard from All Good Things... This was long before Playmates got around to releasing that figure. The leftover Saavik uniform, when combined with a Lwaxana Troi head (sans earrings) made a great Commander Chapel, as seen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. And a Nurse Chapel face (also Majel Barrett, but younger) was eventually glued onto what was left of the first Bev Crusher head.

With the addition of assorted body parts (Rand's torso and boots, Seska's hips and thighs, Sulu's legs) a convincing Number One (below), as seen in the classic episodes The Cage and The Menagerie, was created. (See, she doesn't look like The Bride of Frankenstein, even though that's how she was put together!) However, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Number One of "The Cage"

More, more, more...

Sorting through the pile of discarded body parts, I noticed that the spare Mordock torso and an "on special" elderly Admiral McCoy could be the beginnings of a Classic Andorian figure (below right). At first, I intended to putty-up the hole left by the breathing apparatus, but then I realised how great the figure looked when it was wearing the purple Iolaus vest. So the hole is still there; I simply reversed the chest section! Teamed with a silver paint job, the outfit is not too unlike traditional Andorian fashions (Journey to Babel). A John Smith head (from Disney's Pocahontas) on a Bashir body, was an effective basis for another, younger Andorian (below left).

Two Andorians

The creative juices continued to flow. My spare Classic Chekov head, now with yellow eyes, prominent Adam's apple and enlarged forehead, was placed on a spare grey Spock uniform to become the Rhaandarite bridge alien portrayed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Billy Van Zandt.

Rhaandarite bridge ensign

Tuvix, just as in the Star Trek: Voyager episode of the same name, was created by combining elements of the Tuvok and Neelix characters. When Tuvix first appears in the episode, even his clothes are a combination of Talaxian fashion and Starfleet uniform. For the customised figure, Neelix's hair was trimmed, the ears made pointier and the face and hands repainted with Tuvok's colouring. The communicator insignia was sliced off carefully and superglued a little lower. Tuvok's (detachable) legs and feet were clicked onto Neelix's thigh joints to make the figure taller. I even made a "Tuvix" name sticker for the action base by cutting the two original stickers in half!

Tuvix

Other projects have included:Pieces of Classic Spock and McCoy, which became Commander Thelin of the animated episode, Yesteryear.

* Puttying over the forehead of Worf-in-ceremonial-garb created his grandfather, Colonel Worf (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). Incidentally, the cloak looks much better on the Commander Kruge figure and helps to cover up the totally wrong uniform Playmates gave him. Kruge did wear a cloak when he was on Genesis (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock).

* Commander Sela with Seska's face, which produced a great T'Rul, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's The Search. (Again, the resemblance to the actress was made simpler because Martha Hackett played both T'Rul and Seska.)

* And I've just picked up a cute action figure of Gi, an Asian girl from Captain Planet and the Planeteers, who should make a wonderful Molly O'Brien to go with the Keiko I've been working on (again, long before Playmates released their own keiko)..

Excuse me, the phone is ringing again and this piece of putty is setting very quickly...

Customised Trader Worf and redshirt O'Brien

Special thanks to Steve Simpson for much of the photography and to Bumworld for awarding my Arex and M'Ress custom figures a trophy! (They really love it and asked me to say that it was very tasty. Damn those pesky Toons.)

First uploaded to Geocities in 1999, and revised 2000 and - on Blogger - in 2009.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

I was off to the CBD today for my six-monthly Pieroth wine-tasting harbour cruise. Passing the old Pyrmont Bridge pedestrian walkway at Darling Harbour, I noticed the colourful banners decorating it for the Christmas season. Then I realised I actually knew the junior male model on every second banner! Way to go, Sandy Claus!

Saturday, November 07, 2009

This photo is a quick guess-and-shoot from underneath the plant, in order to highlight its most spectacular angle. This season, the hoya plant on my back decking has gone crazy - it started from a stray strand in an old hanging basket, given to me by a friend about eight years ago. The strand wasn't even meant to be there, and yet it's now a glorious plant that has the most amazing chains of blooms, most hidden to onlookers because the long strands hang so low to the decking boards.

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About me

Otherwise known as "Therin of Andor", Ian McLean has had an active association with "Star Trek" and science fiction media fandom in Australia since 1980. Before then he was an avid fan of the "Batman" TV series (60s) and the Australian TV classic, "Number 96" (70s).